Stephen Earl Wilhite was an American computer scientist who worked at CompuServe and was the Engineering Lead on the team that adapted the GIF image file format from the earlier Unisys-owned LZW algorithm. GIF went on to become the de facto standard for 8-bit color images on the Internet until PNG became a viable alternative. Known as the inventor or creator of the GIF, he received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.